Manhua

In Western languages, it is customary to separate manga ( Japanese comics), manhwa and manhua. However, in the languages ​​of these countries themselves, all these words are written in the same hieroglyphs and mean comics in general. If, for example, a Chinese person wants to emphasize that he is talking specifically about manga, and not Manhua, then he will say "comics (manhua) in the Japanese style" (日 式 漫画). The word first appeared in Japan at the beginning of the 19th century and literally means “ grotesques ”, “strange (or funny) pictures”.

In his book Comics of Hong Kong: The Manhua Story ( ISBN 1-56898-269-0 ), Wendi Xuyi Wong writes that the Chinese comics "include caricatures , comics, and lianhuantu (a traditional Chinese picture-based picture book) of various shapes and styles." Lianhuantu (连环 图 - literally “a chain of pictures”, “related pictures”) differs from traditional comics in that the pictures in them occupy the entire page and are accompanied by simple captions without “clouds”.

Drawings resembling modern comics and cartoons have existed in China since ancient times and throughout its history. The most ancient examples of such images have been preserved in the form of stone bas-reliefs and drawings on pottery , as well as in the form of satirical drawings of the Ming (1368–1644 AD) and Qing (1643–1911 AD) eras. As the time of the birth of traditional Chinese Manhua, they usually consider a long period from 1867 to 1927 . Traditional Manhua actively developed until the " cultural revolution " (1966-1976), which actually interrupted China's natural cultural development for 10 years. At the same time, modern Manhua began to develop actively in Hong Kong and Taiwan - largely under the influence of Japanese manga.

In the 1980s the art of traditional Manhua gradually began to revive, however, in the early 1990s . modern Manhua from Hong Kong and Taiwan and Japanese manga began to penetrate mainland China. They quickly conquered the PRC market, leaving virtually no chance for traditional Chinese Manhua. Now many in China, especially young people, associate the word "Manhua" only with modern comics. In the 90s. In the PRC, legislation on intellectual property rights was extremely undeveloped, which led to the rise of pirate manhua. The Chinese government has responded with a large campaign to streamline the Manhua market, in the heat of the fight against piracy, closing the first in the PRC devoted to manga and manhua magazine "King of Comics" (《画 书 大王》). At the same time, to protect the market, the PRC government launched the “Project for the Development of Children's Manhua in China” (abbreviated as “Project 5155”), thanks to which many comic book magazines and artists from Manhua appeared in China. At the same time, for the most part, Chinese mainland Manhua are still inferior in quality and quantity to the Manhua of Hong Kong and Taiwan, which, along with translated Japanese manga, are most popular among PRC readers.

Manhua's classification is rather vague and in many ways overlaps with the classification of Japanese manga. In Chinese Wikipedia, Manhua is divided into the following categories:

• By readership :
  • Manhua for boys - different military, adventure or sci-fi themes. The main audience is boys and boys under the age of 18, however, among the readers there are many girls and adults.
  • Manhua for girls - they are distinguished by a subtle and clear rendering and the theme of school or love relationships. The main audience is girls under 18 years old, but among the readers there are many boys and adults.
  • Youth Manhua - targeted at young people aged 18 to 25 years. The content reflects the issues of growing up and loving (including sexual) relationships.
  • Female Manhua - focused on housewives or business women . The content reflects the problems of more adult life, the main characters, as a rule, are adult men and women.
  • Manhua for adults - targeted at people over 18 years old. The content addresses various issues, such as politics , economics , history , culture , etc. They may also contain images of sex and violence .
    • Erotic Manhua
      • Lolicon (Lolicon)
      • Zhentaykun (Setakon)
    • Porn Manhua ( Hentai )

At the same time, girls can also have wars, fantasy and adventure in Manhua. In Manhua for boys, school relations and love from a boy’s perspective can also be addressed. In children’s Manhua, themes specific to adult Manhua (except for sex) may also appear.

• By the number of images :
  • Solitary Manhua - consist of one drawing, usually colored with a picture of a person or landscape, very rarely contain a plot.
  • Short Manhua - as a rule, consist of only a few pages, in magazines they are usually published entirely in one issue.
  • Long Manhua - the length is almost unlimited, in magazines can be published in parts for several years or even several decades.
• On the topic :
  • Sci-fi Manhua .
  • School Manhua - Manhua about the relationship of schoolchildren or students.
  • Fantasy Manhua - actions take place in a completely different world from our own.
  • Danmei-Manhua ( yaoi ) - the main target audience are girls and women, as well as some men. The main topic is homosexual relations of men, as they may appear in the imagination of women. Initially appeared in Japan, but then spread to the Chinese-speaking regions (including Taiwan and China), where the dojinjo movement is now actively developing (see dojinshi ).
• At the place of production :
  • Taiwanese Manhua - a distinctive feature is the addition of elements of traditional Chinese graphic gubihua , as well as black and white performance. Key representatives: Cai Zhizhong and Zheng Wen.
  • Hong Kong Manhua - the theme of Hong Kong Manhua is, as a rule, wars, fights, the mafia - that is, everything in cinema is united under the concept of an action movie . Hong Kong also produces a lot of comic Manhua. Key representatives: Wang Tse, Chen Mou, Huang Yulan and others.

Mainland Manhua have not yet formed their own style; in China, the most popular are Manhua from Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as Japanese translated manga.

• By age rating ：
  • Manhua with a rating of 1 - suitable for all ages, extremely limited content of violence and gender relations. There are no restrictions on their publication, import and export (with the exception of Manhua, which is prohibited for children under 18 years of age; for such products, a special declaration must be drawn up, as well as an obligation to not sell it to children under 18 years of age).
  • Manhua with a rating of 2 - not suitable for readers under the age of 21. They contain certain content of sex and violence, but do not exceed the boundaries established by international rules.
  • Manhua with a rating of 3 - the content of sex and violence exceeds the scope of international rules, are considered unsuitable for readers of any age. In many countries, the publication and distribution of such products is prohibited.

According to Wendi Xu Wong's classification, the Hong Kong Manhua are divided into:

• Satirical and Political Manhua
• Comic manhua
• Manhua Militants
• Baby Manhua (Manhua based on ancient Chinese legends)

• Nikki Lee
• Huang Yulan

• Provence (Provence)
• CAT (Confidential Assassination Troop)
• Money on the barrel! (Show Me the Money)
• Love online (Net Love)
• First issue (The One)
• Holy Melody (Divine Melody)
• The King's Avatar

Hong Kong

• Fluid Friction Comics
• HK Comics Ltd.
• Jademan Comics (formerly part of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange )
• Culturecom Comics

Taiwanese Manhwa Publishers

• Tong li comics
• Ching win
• daran
• Ever Glory Publishing
• Min-hsien cultural
• Sharp point publishing

Russian

• Comic book factory
• Istari comics

American

• Tokyopop
• Yen press
• Comicsone
• Drmaster

English

• Bamboo press ltd

French

• Glénat
• Xiao pan

Indonesia

• M&C Comics

Brazilian

• Panini comics
• Conrad editora

Singapore

• TCZ Studio

• Manga
• Manhwa
• Splint
• Comic book

• List of famous Manhua on English Wikipedia

• Traditional Manhua based on ancient Chinese legends
• Istari comics is a Russian publisher producing licensed Taiwanese Manhua series
• Comic book factory - Russian publisher of licensed Taiwanese Manhua series